Best Episodes of Rick And Morty (#8)

#8
'Auto-Erotic Assimilation'
Season 2, Episode 3

Rick, Morty, and Summer follow a distress beacon on a planet where they encounter Unity, an ex-lover of Rick's. Unity takes the three to a planet which is inhabited by people possessed and controlled though its hive mind. Unity and Rick rekindle their romantic relationship much to the chagrin of Summer, who seeks to free the minds of the individuals under Unity's control. Back on Earth, Jerry and Beth discover a hatch under the garage where Rick has a dangerous looking alien held captive.

It's not very common for an episode to pack such a huge punch in its last few minutes, but this one certainly did just that. In all honesty, putting this in my top 10 is almost entirely due to the sucker-punch of a finale that leaves Rick so distressed he tries and fails to take his own life, only to collapse drunk, miserable, and lonely on his workbench in the garage. The remainder of the episode, while not entirely incredible, is essentially just the appetizer for this conclusion that ranks among the greatest and most character-evolving moments in the show. We've seen Rick slightly emotional, revealing his occasional selflessness, but never this completely distressed and vulnerable. Unity is an interesting character and watching Rick's poisonous effect on it slowly take over and lead Unity's planet to the brink of collapse is indicative of his particularly destructive personality that destroys not only himself, but everyone else around him. This isn't the kind of episode you can fully appreciate until the entire way through, once you realize that each piece of the story and how it all folds together is the main appeal. It isn't the funniest or most clever episode out there, but for its advancements and revelations with Rick as a character, it's among the very best.

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